


Unexpected Friendship

by MariaLujan



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Candy, Comedy, Gen, Missing Persons, Tour Bus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 22:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15672330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaLujan/pseuds/MariaLujan
Summary: Angela is six years old and she is dissapointed with her family, but she discovers in Sister Monica Joan a great companion of adventures.Three chapters fic!





	Unexpected Friendship

Angela Julienne Turner hated her six years old.

She waited for them with enthusiasm, in fact, she received more gifts than on any of her other birthdays. She had thousands of new pencils and paints, dolls, toys, and according to Aunt Trixie, Angela looked perfect as a magazine model with her new school clothes.  
But nothing was as she expected.  
Tim was no longer at home, now he was big, he went to the university and would surely have many girlfriends that would be ugly and bad. Teddy only bothered her and seemed to enjoy ruining her drawings or pulling both her and her dolls' hair, and the school teacher hated her because she always gave homework with a lot of Maths. Definitely, this was the worst age in the world.

That morning was also the worst. Dad and mom were in a hurry as usual but they also seemed angry with each other, and the nanny was sick and she could not take care of Teddy. Maybe they were angry about that, but it was ridiculous, nobody was to blame for getting sick. The issue was that they were angry and barely talked.

Angela found unfair that they left Teddy in Nonnatus and her in school, where she would only suffer, while her brother who always misbehaved, would be having fun with the nurses and going back and forth with Fred.

She forgot everything when she arrived at school and saw her new friends and they started playing, but after a while everything got ruined. Her additions and subtractions again began to be a problem and she erased too many times until the sheet of her notebook had a hole. The teacher reprimanded her and she could not avoid the tears, she wanted her mother but her mother was upset and busy today and would be even more upset if she had to go to school because her daughter broke her notebook. Suddenly she remembered the conversation her father and mother had given her a few months ago and the anguish surpassed her: they were not her true parents, she had another mother who loved her very much and everyone loved her, but now she was doubting. If they loved her, they would not send her to this horrible school with this horrible teacher with horrible maths. Maybe her "first mom" as she had started calling her in secret, would not send her to school and let her be happy by drawing and painting at home.

The school day passed slowly but ended and she ran for the exit, but stopped when she reached the door. Her mother always waited for her there, sometimes her father when he had time and bought her more tempera or sugar flakes, but this time, there was no one. She clung to her backpack and looked at her hated teacher who greeted the other children who had parents who loved them enough to pick them up at school without leaving them abandoned.

“Has not your mommy come?” said the teacher with a smile. Angela shook her head, biting her lip to keep from crying.

“Sometimes the parents are delayed, she will come soon” the teacher greeted another boy who was just leaving and stopped paying attention to Angela.  
The girl began to think that she could leave there alone. She still did not remember the road to home and she did not know how to read the posters either but she remembered the colours of the shops. She could escape if the teacher was not standing next to her.

Her stomach made a noise and she reached into her pockets, looking for the coins her father always gave her every morning. If she escaped, she could buy something, and then also take a bus, and also leave Poplar forever, and…

“There you are, little angel!”

She looked up but her face fell when she did not see her mother, but Sister Monica Joan. Then she smiled when she remembered that she always had a great time with the old woman, although most of the time she did not understand anything of what she was saying.  
It had been a long time since she had seen her and when she did it there were always people around that prevented her from talking together. Happy at the prospect of having a good time, she ran holding out her hand.

“Have you been waiting a lot there? I do not like the face of that teacher.”

“Yes, I was for years! Where is my mom?”

“Your mother has a task of great importance during this afternoon, and your father too. So I went looking for you.”

Angela smiled, she did not like the idea of her parents having other things more important to do than going to look for her at school, but at least they sent someone for her.  
She frowned when she saw that they would not take the way back home or to Nonnatus and pressed the nun's hand more.

“Where are we going?” she asked, looking up.

“I've known about a big event in the West. We could go, sure there are games and all kinds of entertainment.”

Angela opened her eyes wide. She knew about that event, her friends talked about a big fair they would go to but she resigned herself to not going because she knew her dad could never take her, someone always called on the phone.

“We need one of those diabolical machines full of people to get there.”

“A bus?”

The nun smiled and patted her head.

“You can understand an old woman, dear. But I do not have money.”

“I do” Angela showed her coins “But I'm also hungry.”

“We will get on the bus, nobody would dare to charge to an old nun and a little girl. You are also small, you do not pay.”  
“If you are over four years old, you must pay” Angela frowned.

“You are four years old.”

“I am six!” she replied offended.

“In the bus you will be four.”

She did not understand, she supposed it was another of the strange things the nun said. Maybe the bus was a time machine that could push back the years?

They got on the bus and sat in the back, where the bus was shaking more, which made it more fun. Immediately a man approached them.

"The girl is four and you will not pretend to charge me, I suppose” said the nun, looking at the man from top to bottom.

“I'm sorry, sister, but…”

“Sir, you are talking to someone who probably helped you to be born.”

The man smiled with resignation and nodded.

“You are right, sister. My mother always told me that of her five births, I was the worst and I would not have achieved it without you. You can travel without problem.”

Angela saw Sister Monica Joan smile satisfied so she took advantage of the trip to ask her questions, from how the man of the bus was born (something the nun told her in detail and she covered her ears because it looked like a horror story), to why the trip lasted so long if they were in the same city. Tim always told her that she had a mind so...inqui... inquisiti...whatever it was.  
She just wanted to know about absolutely everything, and the finest thing was that the nun answered each of her questions without hesitation.

When they reached the West End, Angela opened her eyes wide. There was a huge fair, a circus, and an amusement park, all in the same place.

“Is it not wonderful?” said the nun, clasping her hands. “Lights and colours everywhere!”

She saw that the nun walked out to either side and followed her. She did not want to get lost so she clung to her habit. She also knew that if she followed her, she would always find the best food, Tim always said that the old woman's ability was to find delicious food anywhere. However, her stomach was roaring more and more and the nun had no intention of stopping walking. She tugged at the fabric of the habit with insistence and the woman looked at her surprised, as if she suddenly remembered that she was with the girl.

“What's the matter, little one?”

“I'm hungry!”

“I'm busy looking for the best place for us to eat.”

“There!” Angela pointed to a stand full of sweets. She should not eat too many sweets because they would hurt her teeth, but that's what her dad always said and today she was angry with him so she would eat them all.

She dropped the coins on the counter and began to point out what she wanted until the employee she attended told her that her money was not enough for more. Angela looked with disappointment at the little she had achieved and put it between her hands. Then she counted carefully and gave exactly the half to Sister Monica Joan.

“Thank you dear”, said the woman opening the paper of the first sweet with face of ecstasy.

They kept walking while they ate. They watched some jugglers and applauded enthusiastically.

“Oh, I forgot that I have to give you my hand” Sister Monica took Angela's hand and they continued walking, “Do not miss, girl, that your mother will not want to talk to me anymore. Although now that I think about it...I think she will not talk to me for bringing you here either.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Angela scratched her head, did not understand why the woman seemed sometimes happy and then sad or worried.  
They kept walking, there were many more people and her backpack began to weigh, and her legs to tire. She yawned.

“I think it's time to go back.” said the nun and soon they got on the first bus they saw.

*********

Trixie looked at Sister Winifred and they both swallowed hard. The afternoon had been a disaster, they tried to cook some cookies together for Angela and Teddy but the call of a desperate father took Winifred and Trixie burned the cookies. Then Winifred returned because it had only been a false alarm, they restarted with the kitchen but for some strange reason they forgot the time and soon it was late.  
With guilt, both walked quickly to school after Barbara relieved them in Nonnatus.

“If only we had Nurse Crane's car…” said Sister Winifred.

“Sorry sister, but I would not like to travel in that car with you” Then she laughed at her face, “It's a joke. We arrived on time, the children have not left school yet!”

They greeted the teacher, but she looked at them bewildered.

“The children have already left school.”

“We are here for Angela Turner. Her parents are busy, there was an explosion at the docks and they asked us to come for her.”

“But...the girl is not here.”

“How is she not?!”

“They took her away. I thought…”

“Who?!” Trixie shouted.

“One of the nuns...I don’t remember the name…”

“Sister Julienne? She can not be, she is working together with the Turners.”

“The other, the oldest.”

“Oh no, Sister Monica Joan!” they shouted in unison and ran to Nonnatus. They knew it was a danger that the nun would go out on the street without supervision, but with a little girl the consequences could be worse.


End file.
